Synthesis of a novel kind of carbon nanoparticle with large mesopores and macropores and its application as an oral vaccine adjuvant

The purpose of this study is to develop a novel kind of adjuvant for oral vaccine delivery. In order to effectively prevent the degradation of antigens in the gastrointestinal tract and optimize the uptake for M cells, a novel kind of hydrophobic carbon nanoparticle (C1) with the size of 470   nm was synthesized by taking silica as a template and sucrose as a carbon source. Notably, there were large mesopores and macropores mainly of 40–60   nm, which made it to be excellent candidate as an antigen carrier. C1 was characterized using SEM, TEM and nitrogen adsorption. Following oral immunization with BSA loaded in C1, the IgG titer reached to a level almost equal to that of parenteral administration of antigen emulsified in Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA). Mucosal IgA was also detected in intestinal, salivary and vaginal secretions, suggesting an effective stimulation of mucosal immune response. Besides, both T-helper 1 and T-helper 2 (Th1 or Th2) mediated responses were induced. We believe that the research will help in the design of novel vaccine adjuvant for improvement their potential on modulation of immune response.